


I bet my life

by minutiae



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Lambert's Dad, Lambert's Mom - Freeform, The reason Aiden is the best man Lambert ever knew.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:29:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27592754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minutiae/pseuds/minutiae
Summary: This is Lambert going home- and why Aiden is the best person Lambert ever knew.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ht80uzIhNs
Comments: 24
Kudos: 57





	I bet my life

Lambert stood on a small rise, looking down at the house below. It was leaning slightly, a once lovingly tended garden going wild. It had been decades since he'd seen this place. 

The four small headstones in the garden were tilted and overgrown with fennel and wild onions. He watched a wiry man shuffle out the door, a hand up to block the sun to look at him. He knew the image he made, backlit with the bright sun, a long shadow cast before him. 

His life was bet for him, the only surviving child of a woman beaten into infertility. 

He watched the man scowl, stepping forward. 

Never in a million years could he imagine coming back here. Never could he have ever thought, small and starving and angry, that he'd be grateful for the steel his father beat into him. For the perseverance his mother taught him. She was there in everything he did.

He was on a path his mother never wanted for him. The day he was taken, she'd clung to him desperately, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I love you." He'd seen her cry so many times. The tears that day had been no different than the rest. His sleepless nights listening to her sob. He gave her hell, rebelling and angry at what destiny had given him. He never dared disagree with his father. 

He wasn't a big man, and a drunkard, but nights his hair was loose, long dark hair hanging over his wild eyes were always the worst. 

She was kind and soft and good, and had a limp as long as he could remember. When he'd broken his leg the first time they'd held him down to set it. It was the first time they ever had to use Axii on him, his bright and vicious anger and trauma had them call Eskel in. He was still a boy, fresh out of his own trials but Lambert's sheer stubborn fortitude had him breaking every other attempt. 

Eskel dragged him down into complacence, unable to fight. Broken down to angry tears, his leg was set and splinted, potions administered. It wasn't until days later that Eskel managed to corner him, dodging his fists with placating hands. He'd come to apologize, and a soft question why he resisted setting a leg that would've left him with a limp. 

It was the only time Lambert had ever dropped a weapon while still conscious. 

The old, broken man standing before him, blinded by the sun, had made sure his mother would never be able to walk away from him. 

Lambert waited, watching, until he saw her limp out, frailer than he remembered. A new bruise colored her face and her prominent nose had clearly been broken at least one more since he'd last seen her. The sharp widow's peak of her now silver hair only highlighted the hand print on her face. 

He turned to glance at the horse and small wagon tucked out of sight, where Aiden waiting quietly. The Cat didn't understand why he didn't want to just burn the house down with his father inside. He didn't argue, but had silently pooled coin with him until they'd had enough to fund this rescue. Nenneke already had a room prepared. Aiden lifted one hand slightly, offering company, but was stilled with the smallest shake of his head before he turned away. 

She had limped forward, and when she reached out to his father to balance herself, he shrugged her arm off and stomped back inside, leaving her alone with the silhouette of a witcher overshadowing their yard. He always had been a coward. 

He strode down the path, where he knelt before her, cautiously looking up at her. He had been unsure if she'd recognize him, or want to see him as he'd been set down a path of violence she'd never wanted for him. But the tears that tracked down her face as she traced the scars on his face made it clear Aiden had been right. His doubts had been foolish. 

"Please forgive me. For all I've done."

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember domestic violence and abuse are never your fault. Ever. Be safe, and I love you.


End file.
